Neons

Neon polish: you either love it or hate it. I fall into the first category. Like most other Canadians, I have been dealing with that start of Spring depression. You know the one I'm talking about right? One day of warm weather followed by snow, snow and more snow? I am about ready to ditch my dark hues in favour of tropical colours, easter tones, and neon brights. So in an effort to cheer myself up I grabbed a neon yellow China Glaze polish from Sally Beauty Supply and did this mix-and-match mani! New to my polishes is also the circle sparkle polish by Hard Candy. They have 2 new ones on the shelf this season and I love both of them for Spring. This one is called mom & pop.

Little tip: Neons dry more matte and see-through. Put 2 coats of white on first and one layer of neon on top.

Polishes: China Glaze Celtic Sun and Peachy Keen, Hard Candy mom & pop.

Tiffany's

In love with all things Tiffany, I was instantly inspired by these bows to create a Tiffany manicure. I have seen many like this one online and have always wanted to try it! What I love about this manicure is it would be perfect for a Christmas party with a red colour instead. You can find these bows online from the Born Pretty Store.

China Glaze For Audrey.

Swatchin' Away

Another CandyNail swatch for you guys! This colour is Wedding Cake. As you should be able to tell, I am a huge pastel fan so I love this colour! The sparkles in this polish are smaller so it almost looks speckled on your nails. Super cute!

This is 3 coats - although it would have been fine with 2. I just did another for good measure. The great thing about this polish is the sparkles are dispensed throughout the bottle perfectly. No need to shake for hours on end like some of my polishes.

Be sure to swing by CandyNail when you get the chance:)

Indie Polish

I'm noticing few people really know what an 'indie polish' is when I mention the cool new polish I just got! So allow me to open your eyes to a world of beautifully imagined and creative polishes out there.

So, what are these indie polishes I keep speaking of? Well, simply put, indie polishes are independently owned and operated brands. They generally have a smaller distribution and are hand made with lots of care.

What I love most about these brands is the passion behind them. The people who mix up these polishes love what they do and put great care into their product. All the polishes are made by hand to make sure every batch is exactly how they want it.

And if that's not enough of a reason to like them, the creativity must be. The polishes are more creative and not like anything you would normally find in a drugstore. They usually focus on colours and special effects (sparkles, anyone?) that you can't just run to the local store and pick up. Although this doesn't stop the big brands from trying to copy what indie polishes already do so well.

Que brands like Revlon, Hard Candy and Maybelline. They have all recently come out with polishes that look like copies of what one might find on an indie polish website. Does that mean we should rush out and buy the drugstore copy? Not necessarily. Revlon's polish 'Girly' has a pink base with blue and pink sparkles that reflects many indie polishes. The difference? Quality. I bought it while it was on sale out of curiosity. What I found was a thin base that requires a base polish no matter how many coats you put on. Of course you can make it look nice. But it will never be as nice as an indie polish. That's the point.

I have also recently come across Hard Candy and their similar polishes. My cousin has experience with some of their colours and said she had problems with it pealing off right away. So of course I have headed over to Walmart to test out their polishes and see how they compare.

I've been wearing my new indie polish pictured below for a few days now and I have zero chips. That's right, zero. If you know me at all you know my nails seem to protest any polish after one or two days.

And lets also not forget how important it is to support small businesses like indie polish makers, especially when they put so much work into what they do! I love searching around and finding new indie polishes that pop up. Especially when they are from Canada, like me!

So when CandyNail asked if I wanted to sample their new polishes there was no way I could pass it up. And, no surprise, I ended up loving them! When I first saw the site I instantly fell in love with many of the polishes and was excited she ended up sending me on of my instant favs -Mulberry. I love it because it is the perfect fall colour, and has beautiful subtle blue, purple and pink sparkles.

So, if you're thinking about trying a new indie polish, check out her website! Personally, I'm really excited about Grey Gumballs and Jawbreaker for this season as well. It's great to see more Canadian indie polishes popping up when we have so few good ones. Oh, did I mention it's all 3-free? And 15% off for this week? The bonuses just keep coming..

Let me know if you guys want to hear about some more great indie brands out there! Stay tuned for some comparisons of indie polishes versus drug store and more swatches from CandyNail!

Anchor's Away!

These were supposed to be nails for a pirate Halloween costume, but we think they turned out more like 4th of July nails. We like them either way though! Adrienne came in to get these ones done for a party tomorrow. I layered three types of sparkles on for the middle finger. Striping tape was used for the one nail and the rest were done by hand!

China Glaze Calypso Blue, Orly Haute Red, Essie Set In Stones, Sally Hansen Ice Queen. 

Tinkerbell

I got really inspired after I found my Mom's old stash of pompoms. When I saw the white ones I instantly thought of Tinkerbell and her slippers. My cousin is obsessed with all things Tink so I thought it was a good opportunity to see the vision into a reality. I also got some new glitters from Michaels (50% off!!! Everyone run and get some) and was happy to try those out. 

Carissa is incredibly happy with these nails and won't stop staring at them. I actually dared her to not look for 5 minutes. I'm not sure how that worked out. Probably not well. 

These were all hand painted and some of the colours I mixed myself to get the way I wanted, like the yellow in her hair and the green 'Tink'. 

Sally Hansen Lickety-Split Lime, Sally Hansen Xtreme wear Plum Burst and Lacey Lilac.